Jony Ive finally out at Apple

Apple's (former) chief design officer becomes unperson as his name is removed from corporate pages

Jony Ive has finally left Apple with his name, picture and bio expunged from the company's corporate pages.

The company's iconic (fomer) chief design officer had revealed plans to leave the company in the summer, with the aim of setting up shop on his own. Now, it appears that he's served his notice period and is out the door.

That almost certainly means that Ive's new business isn't far from officially opening its doors. Called LoveForm, Ive's new business - predictably enough - will focus on design.

Unlike most people starting their own business, Ive won't have to hustle for new clients right away. Client number one will be Apple, according to the press release that announced Ive's exit in June.

For Ive, it will reportedly be something of a relief. While Ive and Steve Jobs's design philosophies appeared to be in sync', his relationship with Jobs's successor Tim Cook had become strained.

Not long after he handed in his notice in the summer, reports emerged that he was "dispirited" by life at Apple as accountant-turned-CEO Tim Cook "showed little interest in the product development process".

Not that you'd know that from the corporate quote he gave the Apple newsroom at the time, where he described the company as "stronger, more vibrant and more talented than at any point in Apple's history".

Ive's design capabilities have been mythologised over his 27 years at the company, so we'll now see just how influential he really was. However, the company is increasingly focusing on services over hardware, with initiatives like Apple Arcade gaming and the Apple TV+ streaming video service.